by Jesse Marinoff Reyes ( Jesse Marinoff Reyes Design, Maplewood, N.J.)
Jazz at the Philharmonic, 78 album
Stinson (Asch) Records, 1946
Illustration and Design: David Stone Martin (1913-1992)
According to Squidoo’s entry on the topic:
“The first Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) album was issued on Moses Asch’s Stinson label with Asch retaining the rights to the tapes, a procedural error that producer, Norman Granz would not replicate in his later dealings. This 10″ album was issued again on a dark, opaque red vinyl. volumes 2 & volumes 3 then appeared as 10″ albums on Argo Records in 1950. At this point Granz signed a distribution deal with Mercury Records.
---JMR: ...Well, they did a nice one in Japan about 20 years ago. I'm still kickin' myself for not picking up the copy I spotted in D.C. back then (thought I could just get it in NYC). Agh! If someone stateside gets around to one, it'll probably be like those pricey volumes Todd Oldham did on Charley Harper, and Steve Heller and Kevin Reagan did on Alex Steinweiss.---
The first title was How High The Moon (Mercury Mg-35001) which would serve as the first volume of the series from this point on—Granz basically ignoring the existence of the Stinson release. Eight more JATPs followed as part of the 35000 series in 1950: Volumes 4-11 all 10″ albums designated by Mercury exclusively for Granz productions…”
However, this was the first—accompanied by David Stone Martin’s iconic illustration which became a sort of identifier for JATP. D. S. Martin would be tapped for later editions of JATP (LP designs, posters, programs, advertising) for several more years. For every one of D. S. Martin’s album covers I’ve collected, there are 100 more I’d love to find (expensive hobby depending on the musician, and where ya find ‘em).
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